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Brandon Schaaf isn’t just an artist. He’s a creator. Everything he does is about the creative process. From the theater group he directs to the events he attends as an American Sign Language Interpreter, it’s about the process of creating something. Wanting to learn an incredibly practical skill he could use throughout all aspects of his life, Brandon turned to coding.

From practicality to new found art form

When Brandon began the SmartStart program at Eleven Fifty Academy, he saw coding as a way to grow his professional life. Now, he sees coding as not only a practical skill, but a form of art. After a close friend, who is a graduate of Eleven Fifty, recommended the program to Brandon, he decided to take a look. Having taken a web design course in high school and messed around with programs like Squarespace, Brandon thought he’d give the program a shot. After taking the Intro to Coding course, he was hooked.

For Brandon, coding is “a long process of creating something for a result you’re proud of.” When he was just messing around with websites on his own, he could visualize what he wanted it to do, but he couldn’t manipulate the program to actually do it. Now, he’s learning from passionate instructors to do just that. Seeing the process of coding as a form of creating allows Brandon to face coding challenges and work through them like all of the other creative endeavors he takes on in life.

What’s next for Brandon?

While Brandon is learning frontend and backend development, he’s focused on a future in frontend development and design because he finds satisfaction in the design and creativity of it. He wants to work for a company that’s respectful of employee’s time and talents. When it comes to collaboration, Brandon says, “I love the experience of working on teams.” He says that when everyone is invested in the project, you can talk through the problems and really collaborate to find the right solution.